Newbie + Guitar

[Matt84]

Hi,

I have been teaching myself photography for approx 5 months now, and have just started a course that includes plenty of assignments from beginner right through to advanced.

In my assignment that I have just started I want to take photo's of a guitar, the image I had in my head was the guitar leaning against a wall with the lead making it's way to the forefront of the photo. (I want to use the lead to guide the viewers eye to the guitar. Anyway I searched through photography sites and found one that is more or less what I want to achieve:

http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/guitar.html#comp.asp?recid=55261286&xtra=

Would someone be kind enough to tell me what lighting they think was used/light position to get this effect? Was it a lightbox, an off camera flash etc? I am a newbie and still learning, been mostly doing landscapes, so using 'studio' light etc is still new to me.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Garry Edwards]

Guitars (and other string instruments) are a lighting nightmare because of
1. The highly reflective surfaces
2. The complex shapes.

Dealing with the highly reflective surfaces is easy - just use the largest light source (softbox or silk) you can get, get it as close as humanly possible and angle it so that it doesn't reflect light straight into the lens. All is explained in this tutorial on the Lencarta lighting blog.

Complex shapes are something else, you need various lights, fitted with various modifiers, to direct lighting exactly where it's needed. Without experience, that's just trial and error, but it's do-able because the subject will sit there happily while you take your time

 

[Matt84]

Guitars (and other string instruments) are a lighting nightmare because of
1. The highly reflective surfaces
2. The complex shapes.

Dealing with the highly reflective surfaces is easy - just use the largest light source (softbox or silk) you can get, get it as close as humanly possible and angle it so that it doesn't reflect light straight into the lens. All is explained in this tutorial on the Lencarta lighting blog.

Complex shapes are something else, you need various lights, fitted with various modifiers, to direct lighting exactly where it's needed. Without experience, that's just trial and error, but it's do-able because the subject will sit there happily while you take your time

Hey, thanks for that detailed reply. All I have is my camera (60D) and 3 lenses (50mm, 70-300mm, 18-50mm) lol, but I am currently looking to invest in some lighting, my assignment is due at the end of Jan, so I will try and get some softboxes ordered, if not I will have to try some DIY, but getting that same light will be a task. That photo was exactly what I had in mind.